As A approached her, Ada visibly tensed up. She brought her hands in front of her, like she was spoiling for a fight; for the first time, A could get a good look at the discoloration on Ada's left hand, how it covered most of the back of her hand, curled around her pinkie and index finger, and disappeared back up her sleeve. Ada's eyes watched the other woman intently; she glanced briefly around, like she was considering escape routes, before returning to scare worriedly at A. It seemed a tossup whether she'd run off or throw a punch.

The moment of tension seemed to pass as A started talking. Ada let out the breath she'd been holding; as she took another, slow and deep, her arms fell to her sides, and her gaze to the floor. She shifted, ever so slightly, to hide her left side and the worst of her scars. "S- sorry," she said, in spite of A's reassurance. "N- new people are, uhm... k- kind of hard for me, even at the best of times, a- and I don't think I'm alone in thinking, uhm, this isn't one of those times, right?" She glanced at A's face, almost furtively, like she was trying to judge her reaction without making it obvious.

"I, uhm, I hope we can uncover that truth together." Ada's voice was stronger than before - quiet, still, but not so shaky; this time, she managed to look A in the eye and hold it. "W- would you mind if we stuck t- together for the time being?"

[hr]

As the shadow-thing stared them down, Ada's response was a low, guarded whisper, and surprisingly calm given her earlier freak-out. "Pia's right," she said. "It knows we're here, but we don't know what it wants. I- if it attacks, run for it." She looked to each of her teammates, making sure they weren't planning anything stupid. "R- right? There's no way w- we can fight it."